With fall on the horizon, retailers are scrambling to clear their shelves of summer inventory. As such, consumers can expect rock bottom pricing on swimwear, summer gear, and last year's wine. Also rolling in are a slew of Back-to-School sales, with everything from notebooks to laptops seeing substantial discounts. Additionally, a number of state tax holidays fall in August (depending on which state you live in), so shoppers should be on the lookout for items they may be able to buy sans sales tax.

Hello, Summer Clearance

The pool parties may be winding down, but now is the time to stock up on swimsuits and Hawaiian shirts.

"While retailers will be pushing fall fashions for back to school, budget-minded shoppers should stick to the sale and clearance racks featuring summer apparel and shoes," advised Kendal Perez, savings expert for CouponSherpa.com. "Department stores and clothing stores will also provide site-wide and store-wide discounts throughout August that can be applied to sale merchandise."

Back-to-School Bonanza: From Stationery to Laptops

Back-to-School sales spotlight tons of categories, but probably the most impressive savings can be found on laptops.

"One of the best times of year to score laptop deals is in August, with discounts rivaling Black Friday, like up to 40 percent off new or refurbished laptops," said Brent Shelton, online shopping expert at FatWallet.

Back to School basics may be small potatoes next to high-tech laptops, but pens, pencils, folders, and notebooks are seeing peak discounts at this time of year.

"While shoppers will certainly see deals from Target, Walmart, Amazon and even Costco, office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot should not be overlooked," said CouponSherpa's Perez. "In some cases, Staples' doorbuster deals offer better discounts than Walmart and Target, with some basic supplies being sold in-store for as little as 50 cents. In most cases, consumers have to spend at least $5 to receive these heavily discounted rates — but that's likely not a roadblock for parents shopping for back-to-school items. What's more, Staples' 110 Percent Price Match Guarantee means shoppers can receive a price match for identical items from competitors, plus an extra 10 percent savings."

Tax Holidays, Root Beer, and Wine

"Many states offer tax holidays in August, as a way to soften the blow of back-to-school shopping for parents," said Lindsay Sakraida, director of content marketing with DealNews. "Clothing and computers are frequently included in these tax holidays, and obviously the bigger the purchase, the more you'll save on tax.

And for relaxing after that huge back-to-school shop, August is a great month for getting wine on the cheap.

"There will be great deals on last year's wine to make room for the new year's supply," said Sara Skirboll, ‎shopping & trends expert at RetailMeNot." Wine.com is offering $10 off purchases of $75 or more.

These are the states with tax holidays in August:

Arkansas: August 5-6

Connecticut: August 20-26

Florida: August 4-6

Iowa: August 4-5

Maryland: August 13-19

Missouri: August 4-6

New Mexico: August 4-6

Ohio: August 4-6

Oklahoma: August 4-6

South Carolina: August 4-6

Texas: August 11-13

Virginia: August 4-6

Be sure to check federal guidelines to see exactly what items are covered — the rules tend to be pretty specific.

Other retail holidays to keep on your savings radar this month are National Root Beer Float Day (August 6), National S'mores Day (August 10) and National Garage Sale Day (August 12).